


X's and O's

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 10:15:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19293670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: When "Nick I'm not leaving you!" becomes a reality and not just part of their code.





	X's and O's

**Author's Note:**

> For the anon on Tumblr

It was dark and silent as they moved through the house, it set Nick's nerves on end.   
  
Which was probably why he noticed the slight shadow crossing the opposite wall. He reacted without thinking about it, shouting 'down!' as he dropped to the ground, Ellie following seconds before bullets broke through her side of the windows with a loud bang. Glass shattered everywhere, both of them covering their heads as it rained down on them.   
  
"Shit!" Nick breathed out. "Ellie, go around!"  
  
Her head snapped in his direction, eyes wide. "What?!"  
  
"I'm hit." Nick said through clenched teeth, hand automatically going to his shoulder just barely missing his vest, the blood seeming to shine in the moonlight that now came through the broken windows. "You can go around and catch them off guard."  
  
"Nick I'm not leaving you!" Ellie had a slight panicked look on her face, her voice giving it away even if her face didn't.   
  
"Go Ellie!" Nick gave a barely noticeable wince as he put pressure on the gunshot. "It's just to the shoulder, Gibbs and McGee were already on there way."  
  
Ellie let out a shaky breath, the worst images coming to mind at that moment as her eyes caught the blood seeping through Nick's fingers. "Be careful Nick."  
  
"You too."   
  
Ellie kept low as she left. Nick through grunts of pain when he accidentally moved his shoulder, got up the best he could and ducked behind the corner. He wanted nothing more than to have Ellie's six and go after this guy but he knew she could handle herself, and he'd give it away if he trailed blood behind him. His wound was bleeding way more than he thought.   
  
So much that he felt a little dizzy and lightheaded by the time he heard another car pull up quick and Ellie came back into view.  
  
"Nick?" Ellie's voice was loud, so loud he winced. Why was she shouting?  
  
He heard talking that sounded more like mumbling. Ellie..and Gibbs? But at that point Nick felt himself sinking.   
  
Blood loss _sucked_.  
  


* * *

  
  
Ellie had her head resting on her hand as she sat beside Nick's hospital bed, watching him as he furiously switched through the crappy channels the hospital had on the small TV.   
  
It had been two days since he got shot, and by tomorrow he'd be out of here. Much to his delight.   
  
Gibbs had been the one to rush him to the hospital, where he was taken into surgery to get the bullet out that was still in his shoulder. Ellie the whole time kept thinking of the look on Nick's face as he fainted from the blood loss, and the blood.   
  
Turns out, the bullet had done more damage than they thought. It would take some time before Nick could use his arm normally again, which meant he had to come back to the hospital a couple of times to help get full use of it back. He wasn't happy about it at all (Ellie witnessed the literal tantrum he had), but at least it wasn't his shooting arm (what she told him to calm him down).   
  
"Nick will you just settle on something?" Ellie said, watching as he went through the few channels for a tenth time.   
  
"They suck." He sighed, shutting the TV off and turning to her. "Entertain me Ellie, I'm bored."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "You're the one who won't do the crosswords you were given or read the book."  
  
"Seriously? I'm injured!"  
  
"You're shoulder is, not your brain."  
  
"Yeah well my brain is tired."  
  
Ellie sighed loudly rolling her eyes. "Fine!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook and two pens. She rolled over the table and put the notebook on it and handed him one of the pens. Ellie drew four crossing straight lines on the paper.  
  
"You go first mister 'I'm injured'." She teased.  
  
Nick grinned before drawing an X in the middle square. Ellie followed by drawing an O in one of the corners.  
  
They played tic-tac-toe until Nick's eyes started drooping and McGee showed up to take her home, chuckling when he saw the notebook pages covered in the game.   
  
Ellie said her goodbyes to Nick before he fell asleep, and when McGee turned to leave the room, she quickly leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Sweet dreams Nick." She whispered.   
  
She turned her back to him before noticing the small smile on Nick's lips in his sleep.   
  
"Who won the most?" McGee asked as they got in the elevator.   
  
"Nick."   
  
"You let him win, didn't you?"  
  
Ellie said nothing as she bit her lip, hiding her smile. McGee laughed shaking his head.   
  
It wasn't her fault he was cute getting excited just for winning a game of tic-tac-toe. He had this puppy-like excitement, and who was she to deny him of something small that made him happy?   
  
Ellie always found it ironic when they played the game and he was always the X and she was always the O. She couldn't help but think about it.   
  
Nick was the X. Going in different directions, closed off, used sometimes to keep things hidden.   
  
She was the O. Open, staying in one lane, and a space to be filled just like she constantly filled her mind with things. 

And just like X and O fit together, so did they.


End file.
